Why can’t everything stream Netflix HD?

If you think about it in very broad terms, Android devices fall into three categories: Streaming Media Players, Smartphones and Tablets, and Android TV. When I say Android TV, I mean devices running the actual Android TV operating system, like the NVIDIA Shield, and TV’s from Sony, Sharp or Phillips.

That’s the way that big companies like Netflix and Google will think about everything that’s out there.

TV boxes should be a streaming media player, right?

They’re not. They actually fall outside of any of those three groups.

Netflix considers these Streaming Media Players to be only ones certified to play Netflix HD video:

If you’re looking for your favorite Android TV box on the Netflix HD Android TV list, don’t bother. Android TV boxes like the MINIX NEO U1 or Zidoo X1 don’t run the official Android TV OS, so Netflix doesn’t consider them in that category either.

They actually get lumped in to the tablet category, more often than not.

Problem 1: Unless a device is running the official Android TV OS, like the NVIDIA Shield or Nexus Player, it’s going to be lumped into the smartphone or tablet category by default.

Why is that bad?

Well, for starters, the best tablet screen at the time of this article, is the Sony Xperia Z4 with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. It’s not true 4K, but it is more than enough for 1080p. So what’s the problem?

The problem is that these devices all have to be certified to run at that resolution.

Problem 2: Google Certification

Let’s get the easier one out of the way first.

Back in 2010, Google bought a small company called Widevine in order to beef up its on-demand video services and prevent video piracy. Widevine had existing agreements with several companies, including Netflix and VUDU, which are still in place today.

In order to support 1080p HD resolution for video streaming apps like YouTube and Netflix, a manufacturer has got to be Google certified in one of the Widevine DRM (Digital Rights Management) levels.

I say this is the easier of the two certifications because much (but not all) of this is done at the chipset level, so the work is already taken care of by Amlogic or Rockchip. Manufacturers only have to enable it, in order to pass this criteria.

Problem 3: Netflix Certification

Here’s the hard one.

Much of Netflix’s certification process is hidden from view, but here’s what we know.

Whether this is a issue of time or money, I don’t know. I suspect it’s a bit of both.

Netflix has a right to make sure that their 1080p HD and 4K video streams look good. After all, who would you blame if the picture looks like crap? There are tens of thousands of devices out there, and it takes a lot of time to test each one.

Manufacturers need to sell a minimum amount of devices in a particular region (i.e. United States) in order to get certified by Netflix. Without that certification, Netflix has no reason to treat them as anything other than a tablet.

It’s a classic “Chicken and the egg” story. Without selling these units, they won’t be able to get Netflix HD, but without Netflix HD, it will be very difficult to sell that many units.

I have another theory. Nobody will speak about it on record, so it’s just speculation right now. But it makes sense from a business perspective.

By limiting all of the other devices out there, Netflix has the ability to “steer” you into specific devices. The devices that are paying Netflix the most in licensing advertising fees.

Let’s be blunt: even the bigger Android TV box manufacturers like MINIX or RKM aren’t big enough, or pay enough in licensing fees more likely, to warrant the attention of the big guys – especially in markets that matter, like the US or Europe.

As you can see from the picture below, Netflix is just “not interested in working” with some of these manufacturers.

More devices = more bandwidth

My internet connection, for example, is Brighthouse’s Lightning at 35 Mbps – or 35 Megabits per second. That’s the speed in to my home.

From there, it goes in to my router, which then sends it out to a wired PC and wirelessly to a Chromebook, three smartphones, two tablets, two Android Wear watches, two wireless printers, a Western Digital MyCloud NAS and a gaggle of streaming media devices.

All of these devices are accessing the network, talking to each other.

So how much of that 35 Mbps do you think is getting to my TV screen when I’m trying to watch Daredevil in 4K?

I admit, I’ve got more than my fair share of devices on my network. But, I hope this shows you just how easy it is to slow down your network speeds.

Make sure you’ve got an Internet connection that is fast enough to support all of your devices, and a router for streaming TV that won’t get bogged down directing all of that traffic.

Oh, and you need an HD or 4K Netflix subscription

You didn’t think all that extra resolution would be free, did you?

As of the beginning of 2018, Netflix had three plans for streaming video. The entry level cost is $7.99 per month, and that will get you Standard Definition (SD) video on one screen – tablet, phone or TV. From there, you can go to the 2 screen package which includes HD video for $10.99, or go all the way to the 4 screen plan which includes 4K UHD videos for $13.99.

Remember, not every video is available at these higher resolutions.

How much Netflix Ultra HD 4K streaming content is there anyway?

Most videos are available on Netflix 1080p HD, but it turns out there isn’t a lot available on Netflix 4K.

Netflix originals like House of Cards, Marco Polo and Daredevil are there. That’s expected. It’s surprising that popular shows like Orange is the New Black and Jessica Jones aren’t.

The only popular movies are Jerry McGuire and Hitch. That’s great if the year was 1996 or 2005, but it’s a little disappointing if you’re expecting more recent blockbusters like Avengers, Hunger Games or even Harry Potter.

All in all, Netflix UHD may not be all it’s cracked up to be right now.

The Verdict

With all of the choices in Android TV boxes, it’s disappointing that more devices can’t access Netflix HD and 4K streams.

At the moment, there’s not much that we can do as consumers, other than to vote with our wallets. If 4K and HD playback is important to you, make your voice heard. Contact Netflix support and let them know that you want Netflix HD on the devices you own.

So this is what I have streaming
The IP is Comcast 90mbps, there’s only 3 of us in the house.
My device: Tronsmart Vega Telos S95
I use kodi and I pay $2.89 monthly for a Real-debrid account
I have a Samsung 4k 3D UHD 65″ tv.
It’s amazing the 4k video streams from ReleaseHub (kodi addon)
In the tv test section there’s 4k tv shows. There’s x265 and 10 bit color.
Dare Devil and many other 4k stuff to watch.
My Tronsmart is a hell of a great box for streaming 4k.
Peace

Thanks for the info. I think I may have seen you’re name on debrid or another forum for the same issue. You inspired me man. I have wanted this to work on my TV so long, but the box, TV, and HDMI cable were so cheap, I didn’t think I’d be successful, and you inspired me to take the debrid plunge. Well worth it. Thanks, and cheers.

I searched for this and couldn’t find it on Facebook. I’ve read for hrs on kodi boxes and can’t decide which one is best. I don’t mind spending the money to get a good box vs a cheep one. I think the shows I miss the most having cut the cord 1 year ago is history, and discovery and you just can’t watch these without paying a major subscriber… I’m hoping I can fill my addiction of these two with a kodi box. This has been a great read and keep up the good work on your reviews!!!

I have a 43″ 4K TV. It’s “Changhong” brand. Cost less than 300$, MXQ Plus android tv box 35$. I have WOW internet for 19.99/month for the slowest speed (20 mb/s). I followed Bri Smiths approach. I broke down and registered for Real Debrid. I got Kodi to play in 4K watching DareDevil. My TV info says it’s 1080p. I pressed “O” (oh) button and it said 1080p for output. I went into the display settings and manually changed the display output to 2160p 24hz. The tv box menu lagged, and the video output lagged even more, and the words didn’t match, but kodi, and my tv confirmed the output to be 2160p (yay sort of). I changed the tv box to 2160p 25hz and tried again. The menu still moves kind of slow, but MAN the 4K video works like a charm now. Mouth/words were in sync, and the picture is almost flawless. Thanks Bri, Real-Debrid, Kodi, and cheap internet, tv, android box. I can’t wait for more content.

Okay, okay, wait a minute. My brother has a 65″ Samsung 4k curved tv. He brings anywhere from 70 to 90 mbps at the television. He is waiting on an Android box to be delivered next week, having 3gigs of DD4 ram; 64 gigs of storage, Android 7.1 with H263; H264; H:265 and vp9 Codec. On the Android box he’s running now, rarely if ever, have we found an addon having 4k content that was watchable in Kodi. But what you’re saying is that it is necessary to change the default display settings on a tv box in order to watch a 4k movie on Kodi ?? It’s that simple?? Or did I misunderstand? If I didn’t misunderstand, is there any other settings that need changing in either both the tv box and/or the television? I’m beside myself. Thanks a bunch!!

as of late 2017 “Xiaomi Mi Box” and “Mecool M8s Pro L” has Widevine L1 too, thus are both capable of Netflix HD and Youtube 4K outputting to an older HDMI 2.0a HDCP 1.4 capable monitor. it’s a shame this blog does not bother to clearly date it’s articles – it would help readers avoid a lot of confusion from the woefully outdated information google search keeps linking visitors to.

4K Netflix certification and the actual Android TV OS, not a modded phone OS like a lot of boxes. Also, the Nvidia Shield is also certified if you have the money for one of those. I’d love one of those but they are outside my price range at the present. maybe in the New Year…

I’ve been using a Roku 2 to stream Netflix and Amazon for a couple of years. Recently, I became interested in “upgrading” my setup to an Android TV box, and after reading the articles on this site, I realize that I have made a LOT of invalid assumptions. One of the worst of these was that “any” Android TV box would stream Netflix in HD — not true. In fact, based on the information here, it looks like if I want to move to a true Android TV box, it’ll have to be either Amazon Fire or NVIDIA Shield. Alternatively, I’d have to retain my current Roku setup to be able to continue accessing Netflix, which would kind of defeat the purpose of Kodi being my “media center”.

To get a feel for Kodi, I installed Kodi 17.3 on my Mac (High Sierra, 10.13.1) as well as a couple of popular add-on’s (e.g., Covenant). This little exercise revealed something else I didn’t realize: although there is a lot of content out there, most of it is 720p and SD; 1080p is the exception rather than the rule. Hence, if I plan on watching content via Kodi and add-on’s, I’ll have to be willing to settle for a max resolution of 720p in most cases.

According to a reviewer I found on youtube while doing my research on what to buy, there are a few that will play 4K besides Apple and Shield. One on the 2018 chart and two on the 2017 plus a few that do 1080P. His youtube channel is very informative. Chigztech reviews. The charts are very good. and include some of the newer systems with the RK3399 chips.

I have Beelink G1 (I think) and I have no problems getting Netflix at 1080p on it. My problem is that I can’t get it to play 5.1 Audio. I read the whole review and all the comments and no one mentioned 5.1 audio. I know ARC is working because when I power the TV ON or OFF, the receiver and the Beelink box turn ON or OFF as well.

Could someone please let me know if they managed to get surround sound out of their Android box?
Honestly, I don’t mind watching Netflix movies at 720p (I have a 50 inch Plasma TV) but surround is something that I really want to enjoy.

Just reading about this info regarding getting netflix 4k to run on a PC….dunno how much truth be told but I run AMD and can’t get netflix 4k maybe due to this quote from the internet having some part on the issue of course…….You will either need a Kaby Lake or newer processor capable of HEVC decoding. Alternatively, if you have an older CPU, an Nvidia graphics card will also do the trick. As long as you have a GTX 10-series GPU, starting from the GTX 1050 and up, you will be able to stream Netflix’s selection of 4K content.

I’m just going to get a Roku Ultra to plug into my 4k monitor to hopefully bypass the issue. My smart TV runs 4k netflix fine. Just a note, the Roku 4640 2016 Ultra model has the optical out (the 4660 2017 model doesn’t) for anyone wanting digital sound to their soundbar or sound card if using a PC monitor.

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